POWERFUL OVERNIGHT EARTHQUAKE KILLS 1,000 AFGHANISTANS

An earthquake struck eastern Afghanistan early Wednesday, killing at least 1,000 people, authorities said.

Information remained scarce on the magnitude 6.1 quake that struck Paktika province, but it will likely complicate any relief efforts that the international community has largely left Afghanistan since the Taliban takeover of the country last year, and the chaotic withdrawal of the US military and NATO forces. 

Afghan emergency official Sharafuddin Muslim gave the death toll in a news conference Wednesday. 

Earlier, the director-general of the state-run Bakhtar news agency, Abdul Wahid Rayan, wrote on Twitter that 90 houses have been destroyed in Paktika and dozens of people are believed trapped under the rubble.

Footage from Paktika province near the Pakistan border showed victims being carried into helicopters to be airlifted from the area. Images widely circulating online from the province showed destroyed stone houses, with residents picking through clay bricks and other rubble.

Bakhtar posted footage of a resident receiving IV fluids from a plastic chair outside the rubble of his home and others sprawled on stretchers. He said Afghanistan Red Cross staff were deployed in the area to help.

Map showing Paktika province in Afghanistan where an earthquake hit on 22 June 2022 - Euronews

“A severe earthquake shook four districts of Paktika province, killing and injuring hundreds of our countrymen and destroying dozens of houses,” Bilal Karimi, a deputy spokesman for the Taliban government, separately wrote on Twitter. “We urge all aid agencies to send teams to the area immediately to prevent further catastrophe.”

In neighbouring Khost province, authorities believed there are also dozens injured and dead in the earthquake as well, Rayan said.

Neighboring Pakistan’s Meteorological Department put the earthquake at a magnitude of 6.1. Tremors were felt in the Pakistani capital, Islamabad, and elsewhere in the eastern Punjab province. Some remote areas of Pakistan saw reports of damage to homes near the Afghan border, but it wasn't immediately clear if that was due to rain or the earthquake, said Taimoor Khan, a disaster management spokesperson in the area.

The European seismological agency, EMSC, said the earthquake’s tremors were felt over 500 kilometres by 119 million people across Afghanistan, Pakistan and India.

Afghans evacuate wounded in an earthquake in the province of Paktika, eastern Afghanistan, Wednesday, June 22, 2022. - Bakhtar News Agency via AP

Mountainous Afghanistan and the larger region of South Asia along the Hindu Kush mountains, where the Indian tectonic plate collides with the Eurasian plate to the north, has long been vulnerable to devastating earthquakes. Poor construction for homes, hospitals and other buildings put them at risk of collapse in earthquakes, while landslides remain common across the mountains of Afghanistan.

In 2015, a major earthquake that struck the country’s northeast killed over 200 people in Afghanistan and neighbouring northern Pakistan. A similar 6.1 earthquake in 2002 killed about 1,000 people in northern Afghanistan. And in 1998, a 6.1-magnitude earthquake and subsequent tremors in Afghanistan’s remote northeast killed at least 4,500 people.

Cancellation, delays and hours-long queues are already having an unavoidable impact on summer travel across Europe.

Sweeping job and pay cuts during the pandemic are behind much of the disruption. But it isn’t just passengers that have been affected by staff shortages as now, unions across the industry are calling for strikes over working conditions.

Europe’s low cost airlines are likely to be among those worst affected by the upcoming staff walkouts.

Last minute cancellations and general disorganisation at easyJet have even led unions to claim crew members face a “serious safety risk,” unwillingly working on days off to prevent further disruption.

When are Ryanair workers striking?

Ryanair staff are planning to strike across a number of European countries in June and July.

In Spain, cabin crew unhappy with working conditions and pay are walking out on 24, 25, 26 and 30 June as well as on 1 and 2 July.

Crews from Portugal are also demanding better working conditions for staff and will be on strike on 24, 25 and 26 June.

Trade unions in Belgium say they have been forced to take action as Ryanair is not respecting labour laws. As a result, they are planning to walk out from 24 to 26 June. Brussels Zaventem Airport already had to cancel all departing flights on Monday during action from security staff.

Italian staff have called for a 24-hour strike on 25 June, joining their colleagues in Spain and Portugal.

And in France, unions have threatened action on 25 and 26 June with several airports expected to be affected.

When are easyJet workers striking?

EasyJet cabin crew based in Spain will go on strike for nine days in July, according to the Unión Sindical Obrera (USO).

They will walk out in three phases from 1 to 3, 15 to 17 and 29 to 31 July - just as the summer holiday season starts.

Flight attendants are protesting low wages, demanding a 40 per cent increase in their basic salaries. USO says it represents around 80 per cent of the 450 easyJet staff based in Spain and hopes to reach an agreement to avoid strike action in the first place.

When are British Airways workers striking?

British Airways (BA) ground and cabin crew voted last week on whether to back industrial action over wages.

Unite, a union which represents around 16,000 staff who work for the UK airline, says there was a 97 per cent majority in a consultative ballot about strike action.

It added that thousands of experienced workers had been dismissed during the pandemic leading to a shortage of check-in, loading, baggage handling and cabin staff.

There are no dates set yet as it will have to go to a full industrial action ballot before staff agree to strike. It could, however, lead to further travel chaos for BA passengers this summer.

When are SAS workers striking?

Around 1,000 Pilots from Denmark, Norway, and Sweden’s flag carrier, Scandinavian Airlines could walk out in late June over wages and cost-cutting measures.

They are currently in talks to try and prevent the industrial action but Danish pilots could go on strike from 24 June. They may wait until 29 June when Swedish pilots will be able to join them as they are limited by local regulations.

HOW TO BEAR HEARTBREAK

A child who just happened to lose his mother, cried uncontrollably-looking at everyone around her, she is tired of life, looking at the sky above, she is lost in thought - she is heartbroken.
A young man after writing down his dreams in glee that after some additional years at his workplace, he would be able to stand as a The man received his sack letter in the early hours the following day at his workplace.
A lady after several years in a relationship in which she only hope it would end in a proposal for marriage came back to see a neatly fold missive on her table: "Am sorry Rose, I wish you would forgive me, I have no choice but to say Goodbye. I pray you find a man deserving a kind heart like you. Take care. From your Love. Danny. She is heartbroken and lost in thought. could not control the tears streaming down her eyes.
People faced heartbreak each day. From lost, in marital homes, at our place of work, in our relationship. But the power to overcome and bear the heartbreak that follows is all about us.
Heartbreak can result in suicide, it can ultimately result in loss of memory, it can result in lost of focus, which may lead to personal accident, death and paralyzed vision. No one can bring back what is completely gone. We just have to get determined, focus on the future before us, stay strong and move on. But how can we bear Our Heartbreak when we face them? how can we stay focus after being hit by such an unexpected eventuality? it is not so a big task to do, it is all about you. it's a choice only can it be weaved by you.
Here are the best solutions one can implore oneself through such hard moments:

RELAXATION: Heartbreak can cause shock, which may result in loss of vision, fainting, loss of control over one mind. On hearing a shocking news, or on receiving a shocking letter, or a news which could impentrably caused damage to your focus. The first thing you should do is to relax. Breath in, Breath out. Put away the thought immediately. Leave the spot you receive the news immediately.
RUN A WARM SHOWER: The human temperament is best regulated in water, submerging your body in water can create peace in your mind without your knowledge. Warm water soothes the body, mind, and nerves. According to Neil Morris, a psychologist at the University of Wolverhampton in the United Kingdom, bathing in warm water can significantly advance general psychological wellness. In difficult times like Heartbreak, run a warm shower and stay longer under the fallen spring. It leaves your senses refreshed with anew thought and clear mind for some time.
CALL A CLOSE FRIEND. Majority of the world human self-suicidal mission has been terminated by friends. And happiness and hope are sometimes best found on the lips of good friends. In times of Heartbreak, Call a friend, and talk to them. Wallow in any jokes of any kind from them. Keep the call running for some minutes.By so doing your heart is already refreshed with happiness for a moment and keeps your mind alive towards the future.

SEE A COMEDY: No matter the heart of a Man, how hard it may seem, a person can make it happy. Laughter is the best medicine for a depressed soul. Being depressed or heartbroken, see a comedy, and flow in its ccontents. Laugh out your tears, laugh out your depression. No happy man remembers his past. And a happy man is hopeful for tomorrow

VISIT A FRIEND: The need to have good and caring friends is so essential to man. Out of 5 friends, know one. Let him/her understands your plight, and weakness. Trust no friend but believe in a friend. A Friend is man's closest brother. Having some difficult time? like heartbreak? Visit a friend. Talk about your problem to him/her. A good friend is always there for you in times of depression.

TRY SLEEPING: Like ale in a man's eyes, half of his sorrow is buried. Just like sleep, all sorrows are half buried in the dream world. Get some sleep. Rest for some time and wake to the dawn of the day's blazing moment. Sleep is very essential. It renewed your heart, Your subconcious, your vision and spark you up with anew thought freshen alive from heavens. A heartbroken person hardly remember what happe when he wakes up. sleep rejuvenates the mind

SEE A THERAPIST: Sometimes this is the best option for people who can't control their emotions when they face heartbreak. Since it may result in a thing more traumatic to their feelings. The best thing to do is to see a Therapist and share with him/her. They are always there to help you in times like this.

PLAY A GAME: Forgetfulness of oneself is attributed to things that keep one focus intact. You can never think about what is happening around you once you are engaged in a thrilling act that seems to suit your mind at present. A Person who plays games has no other thought in him but that of the game which he/she is playing. He/she wants to win, balancing his/her focus there. Play a game, such that captures your spirit.